The Last of Us
by Ignescent
Summary: When all of the food suddenly disappears in the world of Don't Starve, the gang discovers cannibals littered throughout the island! Will they ever find a way off the island or will everyone succumb to the flesh-eating monsters?
1. Chapter 1

**Another rushed story! [I keep procrastinating XD] I got the idea from some of my friends and the game called "The Last of Us", so I figured I would also name the story from it because of how it relates. I'll be posting a new chapter every week so stay tuned!**

* * *

The sun had just risen over the horizon, the new dawn setting in over the land. Eight figures were asleep in their camp with the cool, crisp morning air drifting among their sleeping packs.

The pyromaniac was the first to wake up, then the scientist. The girl scrambled up and gave an exhausted yawn before walking drowsily towards the icebox. She opened the lid and gasped. No food left. She had sworn there was more – they couldn't possibly be out, especially this early into summer! There wasn't even a single scrap of berry left. How is nothing supposed to feed eight people? Willow closed the icebox and sighed.

"Wilson, we have to head out again today. We're out of food," Willow murmured as the man stumbled from his pack, giving his back a good stretch.

"Will they be okay alone?" He asked.

"I'll write them a note."

Willow set to the task with the ink feather pressed to the papyrus. She quickly thought of something to say.

'_Out of food; gone hunting. Be back soon.' _

_~Willow and Wilson_

She stuck the paper onto the crock pot. With the wave of her hand, Wilson followed the pyro as they snuck out of camp, the flint on their spears sharpened to a point. As the pair wandered throughout the forest, they noticed one thing. There were no rabbits out, no berries on the bushes, no birds pecking at the seeds in the dirt. Nothing. Wilson was the first to question it.

"Perhaps it was the gobblers," he guessed.

"But then where are the birds and rabbits?" Willow replied, a sick feeling sinking in her stomach.

She knew food was scarce already, but she didn't know they were already depleted of the source. Willow felt the gentleman's hand rest upon her shoulder and she turned to glance at him.

"It'll be okay… we have a farm, don't we? We can grow our own food to get back onto our feet."

"Yeah, but we're almost out of seeds," she sighed and looked back down onto the ground.

Suddenly, there was a rustle in one of the bushes in front of them, which made Willow switch her gaze.

_An animal!_ Willow thought excitedly as she brought her spear in front of her. The bush began to shake more violently, giving Willow second thoughts.

_What's going on here? _

Her eyes lit up in surprise as a blur of red and tan leaped from the bushes and pinned her down, making her unable to move her arms and legs. The creature was like a human – its ribs showing greatly and a fierce, bloody snarl fixed onto its maw.

Willow screamed, her mind racing with fear as it tried to snap at her. She winced as she felt its saliva drip onto her face and smell its foul breath from just their distance. With its long, uncut nails pressed against her wrists, holding her down tightly, the pyromaniac was unable to reach for her spear which she dropped in fear.

"Wilson, help me!"

The scientist grunted as he pulled his spear forward, penetrating the whole tip through its side flesh and shoving the raging human off. Willow scrambled up with her spear and panted as she examined the bloody, knocked out beast.

"Willow, are you okay?"

Willow nodded and wiped the spilled saliva off her cheek. She was too tired to clean off the blood as well, but she figured she'd sanitize it later. She was too distracted on the thing that attacked her.

"Y-yeah. Wilson, what is that thing?"

Wilson poked its ribs with the tip of his crimson spear and frowned.

"It's…It's a human for sure. But it looks like it's…starving. Can you see?"

"That is disgusting…" She sighed and turned away from the view. "Do you think this is what's causing the depletion of our food?"

He shook his head. "No. If there's absolutely no food on the island, and this thing appears to be starving, it would have been full if it was the one who ate everything. There has to be more. We have to go warn the group or we could be their next meal," Wilson spoke nervously, his eyes blurred with fear and distraction.

The two raced back to the camp as fast as they could. Willow could hear her own heart beating through her ears; she could still remember how the human pounced onto her. Only now had she noticed the whole time it wanted her own flesh in its jaws.

She shuddered at the thought when they finally reached the camp, everyone was awake and doing their usual tasks except for one thing. They were all starving.

"Willow, Wilson, please tell me you at least got something," complained Wendy as she approached, her hand over her stomach in pain.

She bit her lip with pity and set down her spear.

"No…I'm sorry. There's nothing left we could find."

Wilson walked towards the center of the camp and stepped gently upon a stone, his hands cupping around his mouth.

"Everyone, please come, there's news!"

Woodie, Wolfgang, Wickerbottom, WX-78, Wes, Wendy, and Willow gathered towards the man with keen, curious eyes.

"What's going on Wilson?" Asked Woodie as his hands clutched Lucy's handle worriedly.

"There's been…an occurrence in the woodland and I would all like you to hear."

Willow could hear the nervousness in his voice as he spoke.

"As Willow and I were out hunting, we noticed something strange. There was absolutely no food when we went out to our usual gathering spot. We were just about to leave when…" Wilson gulped, trying his best to continue without looking like a scared, weak fool, "that's when… that's when something attacked Willow and tried to eat her alive. A human. We're living among a group of cannibals and I'm afraid they've ruined our stock. We have to do something, immediately."

"What are we going to do?!" Wendy asked, clenching onto Abigail's flower.

"Gear up. We can't let them take over." Wilson hopped off the stone and returned over to the fire lover, his eyes full of worry.

"I know we can't survive this," he whispered as he cupped his hands around hers. "I've been saving some tools for us back when I was at the swamp."

"Tentacle spikes?" She asked, her eyes gazing up at him.

He nodded and let her go, though she felt him linger on his grasp for just a few more moments before he had to walk back into the crowd. He began handing log suits and football helmets to the gang as Willow took the tentacle spikes and handed them out as well.

As Wilson was about to hand the last pair of the gear to Wes, WX-78 waved an arm in front of him, telling him to stop.

"What is it, WX-78?"

"WARNING - UNKNOWN SOURCE DETECTED."

As soon as Wilson could realize what would happen next, another cannibal leaped from the berryless bushes and pounced onto Wes, its nails shredding his skin and trying to eat as much of it as possible. Even the mime couldn't break his oath of silence, even when the pain was absolutely unbearable. Wendy screamed and pulled Wilson away from the slaughter and Woodie, scarred and panicked, sliced off the human's head with his axe. The gang could see it then – Wes's mangled body lying right beside the cannibal. Its ribs were showing just like the first one, noted Wilson.

The strongman began to hyperventilate out of fear, leaving Wendy and Wickerbottom to attempt in calming him down. While the automaton moved away from the pile of crimson staining his gears, Woodie grunted and lifted his axe back over his shoulder. He noticed that Wilson wouldn't stop staring at the two bodies before him and began questioning his thoughts.

"You alright, Wilson?"

Wilson stared blankly and then blinked after a long while. "..Yeah."

* * *

That night, hidden among the dim fire, the group was forced to stay awake and alert, though two had to alternate in taking night shifts. Wes's body was already buried by the camp walls with a simple crossed-stick as a headstone and a wilted flower in the front. No one had much time to grieve. The cannibals were still out there, and not even the scientist could question how many there were out there. Everyone was still hungry, even, and Wolfgang's hefty size began to shrink.

Wilson used the last seed they had to sprout a dragon fruit, which he used to slice up into several pieces and pass out to the rest.

"Eat up; don't waste anything. This may be the last meal we ever receive," he spoke as he passed the last piece to Willow.

The firestarter took a small chomp from the fruit and nudged Wendy, who was sleeping comfortably on her lap, for a small bite. The girl's tears were peeking from her dark eyes; she had been crying after the death of the teammate. As Wendy nibbled softly on the fruit, Willow brushed her messy pigtails back and sighed.

"We're all going to die here, Willow." She spoke, despite hearing the soft murmurs of the others in the background. "We might as well use the rope. It will be an easy way out of this place."

The pyro was stunned to hear the bereaved girl's words come from her own mouth. She knew that death to her was an attraction, but she didn't know she'd take it to that level.

"You may be right, but we still have a chance."

"…..Whatever. If you say so, Willow. Goodnight."

Wendy curled back up with her fist still grasping her sister's flower and quickly went back to sleep.

Wilson, who had just finished talking to the two strongest men in the group, walked back over to Willow and sat down beside her.

"How is she feeling?"

"Bereaved, as usual."

The gentleman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I've never seen anything like this, Willow. I just can't think of any possible ways of this happening. The occurrence of no food is obvious, but what I mean is _why_ is this happening? We have no food just like any summer after winter. It just doesn't make sense."

She bit her lip gently and took hold of his hand.

"You're freezing, Wil."

"I know."

Willow cupped her hands around his, her fingers filling in the spaces between his.

"We'll be okay. You know this won't last forever. We just have to survive just a bit longer and-"

"And what? Even if all the cannibals die off, we could, too! There's no food, remember? We'll all die, Willow! You, me, everyone! Can't you see that!?" His voice began to rise and his grip around her hands began to tighten.

Everyone stopped talking to see what was going on, but after seeing Wilson's dark glare they all turned away.

The scientist sighed and softened his grip. When he glanced back at Willow, he could see that her eyes were widened with a hint of fear peaking from them.

"I'm so sorry Willow. I-I don't know what got into me…" he said sheepily, his hands trailing up her arms and giving the firestarter an apologetic hug.

Willow sighed and closed her eyes as she returned his hug. She'd never seen Wilson blow like that before.

"It's fine, Wil. I know how you feel. I'm petrified, too, okay?" Her voice wavered a bit as she spoke.

He pulled back and gave her cheek a soft, lasting kiss.

"We can get through this together."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's a bit late; I've been busy with work so I haven't had time to attend to this story until now.**

**Anyway, there is a bit of blood [gore too, you could say] later on in the story. If you have a weak stomach you don't have to read it, though in my opinion it's not that bad.**

* * *

The next morning, the humid fog drifting among the camp, Wendy shuffled herself from a blanket made of beefalo wool that Willow placed on top of her and yawned. Cold, frigid air met her arms causing goose bumps to rise and she responded with a shudder. With the cloud of fog spreading in every direction, it was impossible for her to peek out into the distance. Only the circle of evergreen trees could be seen.

"Guys, wake up," mumbled the drowsy girl as she nudged the sleeping couple then proceeded to wake the rest.

Willow woke up and leaned back, her elbows pressing softly into the dirt.

"Ugh, it's so unlike a morning in summer to be like this," she muttered.

As the others began to sit up, Wilson began to draw a plan into the ground with a firm stick.

"What are you drawing there, doc?" asked Wolfgang as he leaned in to glance at the drawing.

"A proposal."

The scientist cleared his throat and tilted back so everyone could see the depiction.

"Okay, so here's the plan. As you're all aware, there's a teleportato on the island that can get us home. However, it has not yet been completed. Not to mention it's on the opposite side of the island and it will take a couple days and hope for us to get there," he spoke nervously as rubbed the back of his neck. "What we'll have to do is stick together, survive a couple days, and bam! We'll make it. I'll fix up the contraption and we'll be home."

"I don't think you're planning this out thoroughly, Wilson," Woodie chimed in, still a bit drowsy from the waking, "what would happen after we went back home? What if we get separated again?"

"I'm…not sure."

Woodie groaned and leaned back against a boulder. Willow chuckled and faced Wilson, cupping his cheek with her hand.

"Wil, dear, you do realize that I could just burn every forest and be done with this mess, right? The cannibals would die off. We'd be okay."

The gentleman sighed but let out a weak smile.

"I know you adore fire, but we need the trees. Plus we'd be home and safe. You'd like that, right? We would be together in a haven where we wouldn't have to worry about all this survival and death."

The pyromaniac nodded slightly and brushed her thumb gently across his cheek. She felt Wilson's hand touch hers gracefully, though she was too distracted by the visions of her past.

_Home? _ She had never thought of it before and she wasn't sure her neighborhood wanted her back after she burnt everything down – if they were still alive, that is. They'd kill her for sure; hang her for her crimes or drown her in the lake.

Willow shuddered and slipped her hand away from his, receiving a strange glance from Wilson.

"Y-yeah. I'd like that."

Wendy blinked and nudged Wilson's shoulder gently.

"Uh, hello? The plan, remember?"

"Oh, that's right." Wilson gulped and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

As the scientist finished up, the team scrambled onto their feet and shuffled their armor on. It wasn't enough to keep the constant chills away, but it did something rather than nothing.

The bereaved girl tugged on the sleeve of Willow's shirt and looked up at her, her other hand grasping her stomach.

"Do you have any food left on you, Willow? Please…I'm so hungry…"

Willow shook her head in pity. It wasn't fair for the petite girl to be starving like this, but there wasn't anything she could give. She didn't even have anything for herself.

"I'm sorry Wendy. I don't have anything left."

The child groaned and marched away from her, taking a comfy seat upon the stone wall where she waited while everyone prepared themselves. Willow noticed she was staring at the only thing in her hands: Abigail's flower. If it was the only thing she needed…

* * *

Soon the gang was off, leaving their rummaged camp behind. Their packs were filled with many supplies such as rope and wood, as well as tools and extra armor. Wilson started to notice that as they wandered deeper into the fog, more spiky trees and thorns began to appear. However, there was no swamp land below their feet.

_How strange… _

Wilson was about to cut a spiked branch from the pathway when he heard a feminine scream from behind.

Wendy's.

"Woodie! Wolfgang! Help me!" She wailed as one of the cannibals who must have snuck up from behind latched onto her ankle, trying to drag her into the fog.

"No, Wendy!"

As Wilson lurched forward to help the girl, Woodie, who beat him in time, ran and threw his axe in the direction of the horrid creature. He watched as it decapitated the human before he grabbed it from the ground.

"Nothing like a good 'ole decapitation should do the trick," he muttered as he wiped the blood off of Lucy.

"Tiny girl! You okay?" asked Wolfgang as he and Wilson helped her up.

Immediately she wrapped her arms around the scientist, letting out choked sobs.

"You almost let the creature from Hell kill me!"

"N-No, Wendy, I didn't. Woodie didn't. You're fine now, okay? Please stop crying…" The scientist bit his lip nervously as he glanced down at the girl.

Wendy pulled away and quickly wiped off her tears. "I would've ended up like Abigail."

Before she could continue the trail, she gave a thankful nod towards Woodie and ran towards Willow.

The firestarter frowned and took hold of her right shoulder.

"You know we wouldn't let you die, Wendy. You have to understand."

The girl growled and pulled away from her, too. "You're just saying that. Just leave me alone, pyro. "

Willow crossed her arms at her attitude. "C'mon guys, let's just go. She needs some time."

"Uh…Willow? You might want to see this first…"

The scientist led her over to a bush farther off from the trail. The scent it gave off made her want to puke.

_Ugh, what does Wilson want to show me now? _

As they approached, the odor began to grow stronger. Wilson stopped just a few feet away. Wolfgang and Woodie stood ahead, horrified.

"Guys, come on, what's wrong?" She snapped impatiently, though her voice hinted of fear.

"Look, Willow."

She peered through hesitantly, though as soon as she saw the sight, she immediately regretted it. With her hand covering her mouth to prevent herself from puking as best as she could, she moved away - away from the men and away from the bodies. Never in her life had she seen such a gruesome sight.

Wickerbottom's body was the one behind the bush. Strips of her skin had been peeled off and eaten, showing her bare, crimson flesh along with the pages of the book she had been reading. No wonder she was so quiet. Willow groaned and shut her eyes tightly, trying to rid the putrid scene. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up, the gentleman's eyes glaring straight at her with grief.

"WX-78's, too."

_What?_

Then it hit her. There was just a pile of broken, shattered gears by the body, some parts mixing in with the flesh that piled around the old woman's bones. The cannibals must have been so hungry that they thought the robot must have had some meat. Their attempt failed, of course. No wonder they went for the librarian, too. All because everyone had their attention turned onto Wendy instead of what was around them.

Willow closed her eyes.

_Who would be next?_

* * *

**Sorry it's short - writer's block! Will post chapter 3 in a few weeks. :3 **


	3. Chapter 3

Ever since the attack, the group had become more fearful of their members. Willow and Wendy stayed in the center while Wilson lead up front and the two burly men forced at the back. It wasn't exactly a protective formation, but it was all they had.

Wendy continued to ignore the others while she caressed her sister's flower, whispering gently to it as if it were a child. Willow, who attempted to distract herself from the weird girl, leaned in to ask many questions to the scientist. Wilson, annoyed by "When are we there yet?" and "How long are you going to stare ahead like that?" sighed annoyingly and tried to push her away as gentlemanly as possible. It would take a few more days to get to the other side of the island where the contraption was and hopefully they'd all make it there in one piece. He knew deep inside that he'd lose someone on the trip which left a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach for the rest of the evening.

As they moved their way from the forest, the fog finally dissipating under the new afternoon sun, they were able to make out the savanna they were led into.

Wilson sighed in relief. "We should be nearby. Just maybe a…one to two day trip and we'll be there."

"Why so long?" Willow groaned as she rubbed her hands over her tired eyes.

The gentleman shrugged. "I don't know." Wilson turned to Wendy who was kneeling down on the ground, clutching onto her stomach painfully.

"Wendy? Are you okay?" asked a smaller-than-average Wolfgang as he reached over to touch her shoulder. The bereaved girl scooted away from his touch and shook her head weakly.

"N-No…just h-hungry…" She whimpered.

Wilson dug through his backpack for some food and pulled out a few seeds.

"Hey! I got some seeds-"

"Well don't just stand there! Give it to her!" Willow grabbed the mid-conditioned food from the scientist's hands and handed it to the girl, who began to nibble them hungrily.

As she finished the diminutive snack, Wendy gave a curt nod to the group and continued to stand stiffly.

"Anyways," Wilson continued, glancing back at Wendy, "we should be there shortly. I suggest we gather more supply in case we lose some of our materials along the way."

"But we're already overflowing with all the wood and cut grass on the island, doc," complained Woodie as he lugged Lucy over his shoulder. "I think we're fine."

"Then let's keep going – the sun won't stay up forever."

The bundle continued to walk dully towards their destination. Everyone was too starving and dehydrated to talk anyhow with their minds full of fear and utter confusion. Wilson tried to think of possible ways the depletion of food occurred and started the whole situation while he walked, but there were no possible suggestions. Every idea that popped up only disappeared with logic as its answer. It just didn't make sense. Just last summer they were _drowning _in food. Many had to be thrown out because it overstuffed their iceboxes, despite Wolfgang's complaints of how unuseful that was. The scientist gave up on the subject, giving his head a disappointed nod. Willow's voice perked up suddenly from the moments of silence.

"Wilson, it's getting dark. Can I set up the fire?"

Wilson snapped his head back, glancing at the fire starter. She was right – the whole time he was lost in thought, it had begun to grow dark. He nodded his head to her as she started to create the fire; a huge one, in fact. As everyone settled in, Wilson couldn't focus on his own tasks without his stomach rumbling every few minutes. He looked around the dusk setting with unconfidence before facing the group.

"It's not too late, we can go see if there's anymore food in the area."

"Isn't it too dangerous, Wilson? The cannibals, they come out at this time," responded Woodie.

He thought for a moment before replying. "If you all come with me, we can all defend one another. It will be fine."

Wolfgang gulped unsurely. "I-It will be dark, Wolfgang does not like dark."

He sighed. "Then you can stay here and wait for us to return. Wendy, I can't risk you dying so you can stay here."

"What? No way. I'm starving and you want to leave me _here_ alone with _him_?" She gestured to Wolfgang, making a snooty frown. "Over my dead body."

Wilson wondered why she didn't want to accompany the strongman, but it was impossible for the man to find the secret past her so he left it be.

"…Fine. Woodie, just keep an eye on her, okay?"

The Canadian lumberjack nodded as Wendy growled and muttered something cursed over her breath, though no one paid any attention to it. After a couple minutes of preparation, the four wandered into the forest with their weapons in hand.

"Come back soon!" They heard Wolfgang's voice echo across the forest, the sound waves bouncing against the trees.

"Great, now the devil's pets will awake from their slumber," the bereaved girl hissed with annoyance.

"Maybe there's none in this area," Wilson suggested as his eyes scanned the forest floors for any rabbit holes or berry bushes.

To their dismay, they weren't able to find anything. There were few seeds, yes, but it wouldn't be enough to fill their empty stomachs and Wolfgang was already growing smaller by the minute. They kept searching and searching, looking from treetop to the earthen roots, but there wasn't anything left.

_They must have eaten more than I thought. _

Wilson was just about to suggest heading back when suddenly the dark closed in on them. _Time's up. _

His hands scrambled for his pack, searching thoroughly for a torch or even a single match that could save their lives. He panicked when he found none and the shadows hugging around them weren't helping. Just as he was about to accept his fate, he remembered Willow's precious light and ran over to grasp her shoulders.

"Willow! Your lighter, HURRY!" The scientist yelled as he felt an additional presence sneak up, just barely enough to grasp him away from the group. He didn't hear the rest panic, though, but could sense their fear well enough with their fast-pasted breathing.

Willow's lips curled as she turned on her lighter, the tiny flame emitting from it bringing an orange tinge upon her cheeks.

"It's fine, dear, I got it."

The others sighed in relief, enjoying their extra seconds of life in the dark. However, their moment was cut short when a blood curdling scream reverberated over the woodland, sending chills up their spines.

"That sounded like Wolfgang," commented Wendy as she turned to face the direction of the small campfire in the distance.

"Let's go, then! We don't have time to waste!"

Wendy was quickly placed onto Woodie's back, despite her protests of being able to carry herself, and the three ran towards the camp as fast as their legs could take them. Wilson tripped a few times, being able to only see a few seconds in front of him before the ground filled with total darkness. But that's not what he was worried about, though. The closer they approached to the fire, the more gruesome the screams were. His heart pumped so hard he thought it could burst from his chest. He swore he heard some hissing as well, and maybe some shredding but his ears refused to listen to them clearly.

* * *

Eventually, Willow was the first to arrive.

She set her lighter aside as she slowly approached the camp. The shrieks finally stopped, and maybe it was just a trick, the fire starter thought. Willow pinched the fabric of her skirt nervously and peeked into the camp with her substantial fire still illuminating strong.

"Wolfgang..? You here, man? We're back and safe and we got some seeds…Doesn't that sound good?" The girl chuckled nervously; sweat beginning to slide down her temples as carmine liquid trickled down, staining her shoes.

"Willow? What's wrong? Isn't Wolfgang-" The scientist's eyes widened with fear as the body of their dear mate lay before them, stripped of flesh and blood. Wilson felt even sicker now, and he turned to deposit the remainders of his last snack into the bushes.

Woodie remained emotionless. He was the last man sustainable of protecting the group, but would he be enough? The lumberjack hid Wendy's impassive yet prying eyes from the scene and backed away, though made sure to stay in tact with the fire's light.

Willow flinched and let out a stiff giggle, her fingers beginning to twitch.

"Hahaha! What a way of life!" The girl laughed insanely. Tiny flames began to spark from beneath her feet.

Wilson groaned and stood up, dusting his vest off before grasping her shoulders once more.

"Willow, dear, you'll be fine. We can pick more flowers in the morning, alright?" His eyes furrowed anxiously at the fire starter.

Now he had to deal with her insanity right after the cessation. At least it got his mind away from it, but even he couldn't handle the sight – or smell, at most. The scientist re-gathered his supplies quickly before heading back into the darkness with the fire girl ahead. Her footprints left light, luckily, and they were easy to put out so they didn't have to worry about the cannibals.

"This isn't safe, Wilson. Take me back! I feel safer with the corpse than in Hell's playground!" whined Wendy as she gripped Woodie's tunic tightly.

The girl of death did have a point, but Wilson didn't want to stay the remainder of the night there with the body of Wolfgang there. He wanted to bury him so badly but there would be no time. They had to move and quickly. Calculations of who could be next ran through his head and he didn't like his odds.

. . .

. . .

. . .

_4 days,_

_4 people,_

_4 chances left to survive_


	4. Chapter 4

By the time the sun began to rise over the horizon, assets of their exhaustion grew apparent to one another. Every few minutes there would be a yawn or maybe a couple pauses and it was Wilson's job to nudge them on, even when he was the most exasperated in the crew. Eventually, Willow's insanity became almost unbearable and Wilson was forced to stop and pick flowers for the woman. He tried his best to weave the garland but it only ended up personating a sloppy ring of dead flora, which was technically what it was. Still, placing it upon her head helped her sanity, as for once in a day she wasn't giggling over combustible corpses or how the scientist's hair looked similarly of fire.

Of course food was still scarce in the forsaken woodland. Along the way, scenes of teammates' deaths played through his head like a video stuck on replay. It just didn't seem real, yet it was. It was his fault, anyway, for not crafting any life-giving amulets or meat effigies. At the time it seemed worthless; they were doing so well, too. So what happened?

Oh yeah, the cannibals. Perhaps it was Maxwell's fault for spawning them, for joining into an alliance when they were supposed to be fighting amongst themselves to the death. Yeah, that's it. Maybe that's the reason.

However, right when Wilson was about to reassure his thoughts, Willow stopped suddenly, causing him to crash right into her.

"I-I'm sorry," he apologized weakly, backing away to give them space, "is there any reason why we've stopped?"

The fire starter shook her head unsurely with her gaze directed at the ground. Normally he'd receive a scolding or an upset nagging whenever he bumped or shoved her on accident, so having the conversation pushed away like that made him wonder what was up.

"There's something nearby. Can't you see it?" She whispered ever so quietly, even a simple breeze of the wind could drown her out. Her finger pointed shakily ahead.

Over by a bundle of stripped berry bushes was a gathering of monstrosities, all starving and vicious. Some were attacking each other, perhaps for sport [though Wilson couldn't tell by their strange behavior], while several roamed around the area, checking over and over again for sustenance. They were territorial, that's for sure.

It was like they came from those horror films he remembered watching when he was just a child; how they gave him nightmares for months and how no one came to his side to comfort him. The idea all seemed silly now and he had the scientific proof to defend it, but this he just couldn't explain. And to just top off the discovery, they were standing right in front of the barren chess piece biome, too. _Just perfect._

Woodie, who still had his heavy pack and the sleeping child upon his shoulders, leaned in to respond, "Couldn't we just go around them?"

"No, they take up the entire entrance to the peninsula. Going around them would be suicide as they would notice us anyway."

They were left in silence as the scientist began to ponder over his thoughts. Willow, who turned away from the unsettling expanse, nudged Wilson's shoulder; it was weak but it was enough to get his attention.

"Let me burn down the forest, Wil. Please?" The pyromaniac begged, even throwing him those eyes that just absolutely made him pity her.

But he was a scientist – he knew the outcomes of this and how disappointed Willow would feel. He'd turn down her suggestion for a fire the second or third time now, and he knew how much it hurt for someone to tell you to not do something you loved so passionately. _Take science, for example . . ._ Of course he would be greatly upset if he was told not to do it.

A sigh escaped from the gentleman. "Alright, just this once. Just be careful, okay?" he felt his lips curl up slightly as Willow gave him a quick hug.

"I will."

Attempting to be as stealthy as possible, the firestarter snuck up against one of the massive oak trees nearby. She held her breath as sweat started to drip down her forehead.

_Okay, this is your one chance, Willow. Don't mess this up . . ._

Releasing a quiet, stifling sigh, the pyro carefully hovered her lighter's flames below one of its branches. Quickly, it caught flame and she could already hear it spread throughout the rest of the trees. Hissing from the monstrosities told her that they noticed it too. _Good…now for the hard part - for them, at least. _

Before she could turn back to glance at the cannibals, Wilson and Woodie were already rushing towards her.

"Come on, there's no time to waste!" Wilson shouted as he gestured Willow to follow the path ahead.

Willow found it strange he wasn't worrying about the cannibals but their loud screeching told enough. However, that's not all her mind was on. What seemed like a short distance of running felt like forever. Even she began to grow dizzy and she was the fire resistant one in the group! All of a sudden, she heard heavy coughing coming from behind her. Woodie.

"Woodie! Come on, we're almost there!" She tilted her head in the direction of the open land ahead, but her brows furrowed as he stopped running.

The sleeping child was still upon his shoulders and with his weak condition, he couldn't keep the strength to hold her up any longer. Wilson stopped his pacing as well, noticing his teammates pause their escape. He noticed what was happening and quickly rushed to his side, lifting Wendy off his shoulders and placing her onto his. When he offered to help him continue, Woodie shrugged and backed away deeper into the fire.

"I've had a good run, doc. It's time for me to go." And with that, he was left to roast in the flames, leaving his stunned partners alone.

"Willow, time is running out. We have to go," the man coughed, feeling like his lungs were about to burst.

Willow grabbed his hand and quickly the two fled the forest. She could feel tears begin to peek from her eyes as she remembered all of the deaths that occurred in the couple of days. It could be Wilson next or even her or Wendy, and now she could only think about the life ahead of her. If she were to escape, where would she even go? Back to her neighborhood's ruins? It would be a nightmare to revisit that horrible place again. Would Wilson be separated too?

* * *

**Sorry the ending was rushed, I was being forced to exit out of my computer... **

**The next chapter may be the last. [It shall be posted next week.] vwv**


	5. Chapter 5

Willow's eyes were dull and clouded with dread. She couldn't _believe _what had just occurred a few moments ago, and yet here she was, unharmed and alive.

_Alive. _

The word tasted so bitter on her tongue. It reminded her of the foul meals that were served to her when she stayed at the orphanage, which she was pretty sure was doused in medication. And the guards, oh the guards. They couldn't trust her to be alone after the incident with the neighborhood fire. Even at that dreadful place she was untrusted, as if the people there expected that she'd set that place aflame as well [As much as she wanted to.]. It was gruesome there, she remembered. It felt like a concentration camp for _her. _Not the other kids, of course. They were treated with love and respect…and pity that their parents were dead. She was the only one treated differently, like always.

Quickly she stopped her mind in its tracks. _No memories, none. _She couldn't afford to think about such things anyway. There were more important matters at hand.

As the three rushed wearily from the singed forest, Wilson weakly set Wendy down on the dirt floor and placed his hands upon his knees. From the sweat dripping from his neck, she could see that he was clearly exhausted, not to mention steaming. He was lucky to have made it out alive.

Willow let out a relieved sigh and moved her hand towards Wendy's forehead. She was warm – _really _warm, and when the fire starter began to contemplate on what symptom she might have, she contracted her hand away.

"Wilson? I think Wendy might be sick."

The scientist shifted from his previous stance to examine bereaved girl.

"She looks quite fine to-" Wilson was interrupted by the alarmed status of the previously sleeping child .

Wendy's eyes darted around unnaturally, as if she were trying to take in everything around her; like there were something around them but there were not. She whined and clenched her sister's flower in her hand – she hadn't let go of it from the start.

"W-where are we? W-where is everyone? Explain!" The pair could obviously see the distress and confusion she was in.

"We're at the chess piece biome right now. We're going home, Wendy," Willow informed, despite telling her about Woodie's death. She didn't need to know anyway, though him not being here already told enough.

The nodding child wiped off the sweat peeking from her brows before scrunching up her nose in disgust.

"Why does it smell so vile?"

Wilson nudged Wendy towards the crisped forest behind them. By the look of her expression, she could sense what happened to Woodie while she was asleep. However, there was no pain that stabbed at her heart. Death already took tolls on the people she cared about and crying would not solve anything. She murmured a quiet "Oh" and relocated her hands down to her stomach. It was completely empty and crippled, though she felt no pain; for now, at least. Taking Wilson's hand, she was helped up for a fuller examination of her surroundings. Her legs almost toppled over like sticks at first, but she quickly adjusted to it.

"Alright, now follow me." With the wave of Wilson's hand, he led the girls towards the unfinished contraption.

"Luckily with the help of Wolfgang we were able to defeat all of the chest rooks here," the scientist explained with simple gestures, "so we should be safe. I have the parts to complete it, so you two can sit back while I take a crack at this."

Willow's brow rose with mere questioning. "This sounds too easy. Wilson, how do you even know that this machine takes us back home? For all we know it could take us into an outer dimension or possibly kill us."

"Just trust me, my dear." The scientist tried to assure himself, not only Willow. He didn't know if this simple machinery would take them home or not, and with the little faith he had left inside of him, things only seemed to get worse.

As soon as Wilson was about to insert the last piece into its proper hinges, the man of science felt a tug on the hem of his vest.

"W-Wilson?" peeped the tiny voice, Wendy, as she gazed up at him with hunger. Her eyes were glossed with interest and her tongue swiped across her lips in perfidy.

Wilson noticed this, but not Willow, as she was busy tapping away with her lighter. Sweat managed to peek from his forehead and he let out a nervous chuckle, but not before detaching himself from the child.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look delightfully scrumptious?"

The air grew suddenly still with unease. Even Willow paused from her play to examine the pair, except with fear in her eyes instead of their previous content. She hesitantly approached them, but Wendy seemed to pay no attention.

"N-No? . . ." Wilson backed away from the machinery he called a 'teleportato' and from the starving child, "Wendy, just h-hold on a bit, alright? I-if you go through this portal y-you can have all the food you want!"

But Wendy didn't listen; she didn't _want_ to listen. Her stomach begged for food and it was her job to tend to it. At this point, all memories of their past together had been wiped from her brain and replaced with the simple desire: food. Wendy swiped her tongue over her lips one last time before lunging towards the scientist.

Wilson gasped in surprise at her sudden action and jumped back. He knew she was hungry, but not so hungry that she'd give up on her life on this very last second!

Luckily, before the girl could get her hands on him, Willow was able to latch onto the two locks of her hair and snap her away. Wendy shot a furious glare at the fire starter and began to attack her instead. Maybe meat from the creature of Hell would taste better, she thought with a new founded grin as she leaped onto her. The force was strong enough to knock Willow down. This gave an advantage to Wendy, who used it to pin her down.

"Wait until I roast your meat! You'll taste so good!~"

Her hand relocated to the older woman's neck, leaving Willow's free one grasping at her wrist. She could see Wilson stand in shock; he was too distracted to understand what was going on, too. But she needed him _now _and there was no time for pondering.

"W-wilson! H-h-help!" She choked in between gasps. No matter how many times she tried to claw into Wendy's flesh (and succeeded a few times) the girl would not budge. She showed no emotion to the attack, but had returned the favor to her as well as several sharp nips to the skin. Wilson whipped out his hatchet as fast as he could in order to save his lover from the rabid girl. He didn't want to do it – he did _not _want to murder this child, his friend, but if he left her to live he could lose Willow's life and even his.

Wilson swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to swallow his guilt, and kicked roughly into Wendy's side as she was about to tear into the flesh of Willow's neck, causing the girl to tumble a few feet away. Wendy responded with a hiss and wiped off a trail of blood that dripped from her lips. How dare he interrupt her from her meal!

The scientist lowered his hatchet when Wendy didn't lunge for another attack. Instead she only panted then let out a shrill giggle, which surprised the pair. Was she turning back to normal? Wilson thought.

But his thinking was interrupted once again, and only to be proven wrong. As he was about to approach her, Wendy dove straight for him. Without thinking, he swung his weapon towards her, eyes closed and breath stolen away. He felt his throat tighten as he heard the sickening slice that he caused upon the child, and suddenly, things grew deadly quiet. Wilson was almost too scared to look. He was shaken and felt impure. Wendy was murdered because of _him_.

He opened his eyes slightly and almost gagged at the sight. Not only had he killed her, he _decapitated _her. Wilson felt bile rise in his throat and it took him all of his self control to force it down. Willow sat straight up, hands covering her mouth and eyes filled with utter shock. Whether or not she saw the whole thing, it was still traumatizing.

"I-I….Wendy.." Wilson shut his eyes tightly and dropped the bloody weapon that used to be clenched tightly in his hand. _I'm so sorry._

"Wilson?" peeped Willow's quiet voice, "I…I want to go now. Please…I can't take this anymore."

Opening his eyes, he could see that Willow was standing now. She stared directly at the remains of what used to be a dear friend. He hoped Willow understood what he had to do to save their own skins.

"Yes…Of course, my dear," The scientist mumbled.

Spotting Wendy's flower laying just a few berry bush lengths away, Wilson walked over and picked it up curiously. He immediately frowned, remembering how badly she wanted to summon her sister. It would be best to keep this in memory of her, he supposed. Turning back towards his partner and the machine, he gave the fire starter a reassuring smile and tucked the flower into his pocket. His hand reached for hers and he gave it a warm squeeze.

"Now, let's go, shall we?" Wilson took one last look at the corpse of the beloved girl before activating the machine.

It shook and let out bits of steam. Not even Wilson could question if his machinery would work or not before shadowed hands, the same one that pulled him onto the island, grabbed both him and Willow and dragged them into the ground.

Both were too swallowed in the darkness to know what would happen next.

* * *

**Finally finished with this fanfiction! I wasn't able to write and post this chapter earlier because of all the schoolwork and finals that I had to work on, so I apologize for that. In the meantime, it might take me a while to write another fanfic for the same reason but I do have some ideas in mind.**

**Sorry if this seemed rushed as well, I tried to add more fillers but my mind was blank all of the time.**

**Thanks for reading, anyway!**


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